I don’t think I feel bad about what I did to William. He was a monster, literally and figuratively, and even if I hadn’t exactly killed him in self-defense, he had plenty of blood on his hands, and he’d been proud of his viciousness. The world is better, safer, without him in it … and yet. The way I think about vampires has shifted a lot in the past month, and taking a life—no matter what kind of life it was—isn’t easy to process.

When the light coming through the windows of the side exit turns amber with the setting sun, I finally leave the building. A breeze sweeps the parking lot, loamy and green—scented with new life—and I drink it in. When I hear the door click shut behind me, I count to five, and turn around.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Jude Marlowe leans on the wall beneath the overhang, safe from daylight in its slender shadow, with a little smirk I still can’t quite resist.

“It’s been a while,” I agree, appreciating the shape of him. It makes me think about all the things that happened that night in Chicago—and a few of the things that didn’t.

“And yet you’re almost acting as if you expected me to show up.”

“In a way, I think I’m always expecting you to show up.” It’s the truth, even if I’m avoiding a direct answer.

We watch each other for a companionable moment before he says, “I’m heading back to Europe tonight. The Syndicate needs my final report, and it’s going to be kind of a doozy. I guess I just wanted to see how you were doing. Before I go, I mean.”

“Aside from all the trauma, I’m great.” I get a laugh out of it, but then I turn serious. “Thank you. For saving my parents, I mean. I never got the chance to say that.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” he points out. “I was magically compelled to do it, remember?”

“Okay, fair point. But you would have done it anyway.” I know this now, for sure.

“Perhaps.” He glances down, a little shy, and a delighted shiver tickles me. Now that I have nothing he needs, I feel the chemistry between us more than ever. It sucks that this is a goodbye.

“Do you know if the Brotherhood is still planning to kill me?” I blurt the question quickly, because I need to know, and he’s the only one I can ask.